A "Go" Family

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One of the words that God gave our family, soon after Olive's birth, was that we are a "Go" family. Highlighting Jesus's words to the disciples in Matthew 28: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

In my last blog, I shared about the freedom of being "Boldly Honest" with Dan, my husband. In Brazil, Dan and I shared our dreams for each other, our marriage and family, and lastly our ministry. We have come to understand more fully that every family is different and, therefore, we must ask God how our family can function best! As individuals we were all created uniquely, and thus, when two people come together as a couple, their relationship will be different than any other married couple. Similarly, when a couple decides to have children, their family will function differently than other families they know. God loves diversity and desires a personal, unique relationship with each one of us, so why should a couple or a family be any different? I believe that we all have to follow what God is calling us to as a family, even if it is unlike other families we know. And as seasons come and go, how you function as a family will change. So how does this realization pertain to Dan and myself right now?

After our time in Brazil, we have really started to walk into what God has called our "GO" family to look like in this season, and it has been fun! It took us a few weeks getting into a new routine, adjusting our daily schedule to include different desires and passions for both of us, but we are walking in a new place as a couple and family. Dan and I have divided our day so that there is always one of us working and the other one is with Olive. It allows both of us time to work and both of us time with Olive. Based on this new model for our family, here are the new rhythms of our daily family.

I, Carole, am with Olive in the mornings and we use ASL. I wake up with Olive, get her dressed, have breakfast with her, and do a Bible story every day. We have some independent time, educational time and then usually go out for a morning trip. A morning trip may be going to Costco or Giant (as I am currently responsible for meal planning and food shopping for our community house), going to story time at the public library, which Olive loves, or meeting a friend for a play date. We come back, have lunch, and then have quiet reading time before a nap. Then Mommy takes a nap too!

  

After Olive's nap, it is Daddy time and English time! Olive has been loving spending time with Dan. She gets to do things she would never do with Mommy, like play on the mower while Daddy is fixing it or going to Home Depot, the “Daddy store" as Olive calls it. The first time she went to Home Depot, she came home and said, " I went to Daddy store, and it is different than your store. It has a lot of tools, not food." It was so cute! They also have play time every day (Dan is so much better with play time than I am), educational time, and 30 mins of video time. Olive loves the show "Curious George". Dan is responsible for Olive during dinner, so I am able to fellowship with our staff/housemates. Then Dan oversees Olive's bath time and the bed time routine. Before Olive’s bed time, we usually do prayers as a family together.

When I am with Olive in the mornings, Dan is maintaining the YWAM base, as almost every day something needs to be fixed (we do have 4 houses and 4 acres of land to take care of). He also takes the lead with our ASL community meetings and Bible training, although there are times when we switch things up and I will teach or lead a meeting. In the afternoons, I, Carole, am usually connecting with potential students for the next ASL DTS, communicating with YWAMers around the world who are serving with the Deaf community, or answering emails for our ASL ministry. Recently, I have also been connecting with potential new supporters. It is a joy to be able to do what both of us love: Dan working with his hands and me connecting with people.  Then we all get to have family time on the weekends.

Dan and I are so grateful for this season, where we can both have the time to fulfill God’s calling on our life while allowing Olive daily, quality time with Daddy and Mommy doing the things she loves to do. God has given us wisdom to operate our family in the way where everyone is thriving.

Enjoy some pictures of Miss Olive Brave.

  

Educational time with mom: mixing colors

Library Story time: Olive loves Miss Lauren! And Miss Lauren knows Olive by name. 

  

Writing time and Snuggle time with Daddy.  

She is such a cuddlier.  And Daddy has gotten a lot of practice with Mommy. 

As a family, we were celebrating a good friends birthday at an ice skating ring! 

Bold Honesty in our Marriage

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Have you ever felt like there are dreams or passions inside of you that you are holding back or not telling anyone or someone? Maybe there is just no opportunity to share or, sadly, no one is asking.

In Brazil, about halfway through our mission trip, Dan asked me to write down dreams that I had for our marriage, our family, and our ministry for the next 5 years. For me, this was a challenge. I love remembering and reflecting, and Dan loves dreaming! I think this is one reason God put us together: because we are so opposite in many areas resulting in us learning and growing from each other.

Dan shared that He has been dreaming with God, had been writing his dreams down, and wanted me included in the process.

As I had time, I began thinking and asking God to show me dreams that were dormant inside of me. A few came out quickly, and then I stopped. As I thought of life dreams, I could not see any possible way any could happen in the near future. Thus, I immediately shut them down in myself and did not write them down. What was the point of voicing my heart and dreams when I would only be hurt in the end by it not happening? For example, I absolutely love living internationally! I love other countries, the struggle to communicate while in them, the newest of a different culture, and then trying to learn from my experiences in that country. Honestly, I thrive when I am out of America. However, after living in Costa Rica for two years, Dan realized that there are many reasons why living internationally is hard for him. Why would I mention my heart to live in a different country again when I already knew that Dan has a desire to live in the United States. Through this process of dismissing all my dreams due to my own reasoning, I came back for our discussion two days later with no dreams. 

That day, Dan was eager to share and when he asked if I was ready, I communicated that I did not have anything. He gave me a confused look and asked why not. I shared that I started well but then could not think of any way that my dreams could become a reality; out of that place, I got stuck. He responded so gently, caring for my heart, saying "I do not want you to figure out how your dreams will work out, and I am not and can not promise they can. However, as we pray about the future, I need to know what is inside of your heart so we can move together as a couple and family. I want to know things that you are passionate about, and I want to share mine with you." I responded, "Some things you might not like, might not agree with, or will be surprised by." He said "That is fine, I am eager to know!" 

I agreed to not plan out how everything would work out inside my head and just write down what was inside my heart. Then the dreams came! The next day, we were able to share openly the things that were on his heart and on my heart. Dan shared his first and a few surprised me! He wrote down he would like to live internationally again but had some requirements; like the country had to have English as a main language. He also shared how this last season he missed working together in ministry and would really like to see me back working and serving with him in ministry. Being more involved in ministry again was on my list, too! However, I did not think that Dan thought that way. Having Dan sharing first, made it easy for me to share. It felt so good to share my heart and be open and honest.

(Here we are, in front of the cabin we spent, three days (two nights) alone as a couple, praying and sharing our dreams. Thank you Patty and Rick McClelland and the Stevenson's for making this happen!) 

(Olive loves kissing her baby brother)

Since this time, we have taken multiple opportunities to pray and continue to talk through dreams we have. In addition, I have been able to share openly and honestly with others about dreams or things inside my heart where I have hidden them. It feels so good! I am ok that I do not know if all the things I voiced will come true, when they will come true, or how they will come to be. For example, I am pregnant thus being a full partner in ministry is not a reality right now as I will have a newborn by the time the next DTS starts this Fall. However, sharing that it is my heart's desire to be involved has made all the difference. For instance, Dan has intentionally made time for me during this spring season to be involved, and we have planned certain activities in the evening after Olive's bedtime so I can be involved.

(We absolutely love our weekly date night, but even more so recently as we have been boldly honest in sharing with each other! Here, Dan took me out to National Harbor and rode the Ferris Wheel for my 35th birthday. I am so loved!)

It is a joy to have a husband who loves me and cares about my heart. It has strengthened our marriage as we have continued to share openly about things inside our heart! I know that God feels the same way. He wants to know our dreams for He was the one who placed them there.

Brazil through Olive's eyes

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Enjoy the many pictures of Olive in Brazil!  She loved every part of it! 

And the team championed her in every way possible! 

 

Olive just turned 3 years old, but she absolutely loves planes! She loves traveling! She was so excited to have the chance to fly again: so excited she did not sleep that much because there was too much to do and see! To say she was exhausted when we finally arrived is an understatement. The picture above was 10 mins after we arrived to Recife, Brazil. 

Olive Brave is a climber!! She climbed everything and anything she could!

 She even brought friends along with her on her climbing adventures. 

  

She loved picking up seashells from the beach in Joao Pessoa. As Daddy went to work with the team, Mommy and Olive had some sweet moments at the beach. She also helped me hand- wash clothes! 

  

In America, we mostly use a stroller, but in Brazil due to the uneven sidewalks, Daddy and Mommy, carried her on longer walks or for traveling!

  

She made many friends in Brazil, young and older. 

 

Even though they spoke a different language (spoken or signed), 

this did not stop her from playing and having fun with them! 

She just acted like they knew what she was talking about and jumped right in! 

  

She even taught some ASL to Brazilians who were interested in learning! She was teaching how to sign "X" in ASL.  At first, she was confused by the different sign language.  She would give a look like, "They are signing it wrong, Mommy!" After some time, we learned some Libras (Brazilian Sign Language), too! As well as learning some other tricks, like how to make a coin disappear and appear!

During our time, we spent many hours with friends on the team!  She always wanted to serve and help with them!  She spend many hours gardening with the team.  

Her favorite place was the kitchen, which was not always helpful!  But the kitchen was the place to have fun!  Brazilians love to dance and laugh, and the kitchen was the place for it! Here is a picture of the crew cooking dinner who took a little break to teach the American's a Brazilian dance.  

OFC, Olive heard the music and had to join in!

 

We also continued independent play time! Although she is a very social person and loves people, we recognized a need to provide her space to learn how to calm down and play independently daily. We continued this in Brazil. 

      

Bandaids are one of her favorite independent play games! They keep her busy for a while. A corner with fun stairs became her play corner in Belo Horizonte. 

  

We also did some learning: practicing some letters, patterns and Bible reading times 

(Mommy needed to have time with Jesus too!) 

  

A new discovery in Brazil was swinging! She loves swinging, especially when Daddy is pushing her! This was the playground in our backyard, in Belo Horizonte. We played almost everyday. 

 

The YWAM base in Belo Horizonte also had a swimming pool about a 10 min walk from our home. We loved swimming on sunny days! 

Mommy really loved it as there was a big hill that we had to walk to get there, so Mommy got two kinds of exercise in for those days: walking uphill and swimming! 

Sometimes, Daddy and the team would be able to join us too! In the picture, Dan is asking for a ball. 

  

She loved Brazil so much, she even brought something from Brazil home with her, well more like in her! We found a bead from Brazil in her nose! Daddy did some impressive removal work,

 and we got it out! Praise God!

 

Olive was so blessed in Brazil, and I know that she blessed Brazil too!